338 pages. Also a 15 page preview if the next novel, Slough House.
Day 1 (DDRD 2,609) December 21, 2024
Read to page 30.
Have / Sorry to admit that as much as I've enjoyed Mick Herron's writing, I was getting tired of the "following a cat, rat, the sun, etc." opening and closing sequences. It's like when you realize that every song on an album is structured verse verse chorus verse bridge chorus. You just start longing for some variation, some deeds of day wing do. I guess Mick heard my cries as they filtered through the time anomaly and took a different approach with the opening of Joe Country. We start with a disturbing scene of a barn burning, which closes by telling us that two of the all horses--a man and a woman--are dead. Say what? I can see I'm going to gave a hard time not reading this book the way a duck eats*: without chewing.
ADDENDUM: So...left the house at 7 am to pick up the kids. Brought them home and watched a movie (The Killer's Game) with Joe, then two shows, then did prayers and stories (from four different books) with Jacqueline, then went for a walk with her. Took the kids to their mom's house, came home and watched the Chiefs beat the Texans, did a load if laundry, ate dinner. Then thought: I really want to read some more of Joe Country. So I did.
Read to page 85.
"As for River, he was still young enough to take the knocks and stay standing, or get back on his feet afterwards. A nice trick, soon lost. River would learn." (68)
Another of the seemingly casual, throwaway lines that hits me in the heart.When I look at my life now, I see that I haven't been able to stay standing after the knocks that I've taken. I try, I struggle, but it's like I'm living with the gravitational pull of Jupiter pulling at me, making even the simplest tasks difficult. It's wonderful to think that you're Cool Hand Luke, that no matter how many times you're knocked down you'll still manage to stagger to your feet and raise your fists to continue the fight. But that's just a movie. That's just bullshit. "There are storms we cannot weather."
* According to The Simpsons, anyway.
Day 2 (DDRD 2,610) December 22, 2024
Read to page 147.
Woke up shortly after 2 AM this morning and immediately knew that I was not going to go back to sleep. So I had a bowl of cereal, and I started to read, hoping to read myself back to sleep. Seems like I was awake for an hour or two, but my Fitbit says otherwise. Still, I put a pretty good dent in Joe Country, so at least there's that. Clearly this holding back to thirty pages a day is not going to work, so without further ado, "I renounce thee, pledge. I renounce thee, I renounce thee, I renounce thee."
There. All official now. And I can get back to reading.
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